I’ve been
teaching writers how to use social media to grow an online platform for years.
I’ve developed this blog, spent years teaching at conferences, as well as
consulting with groups and ministries.

Unfortunately,
the one thing I see over and over again, is excited people who try to take
everything I teach and apply it in a crazy-short amount of time.

In every class
I teach, I warn against spending more than 30 minutes a day building an online
platform, but I can’t seem to combat the rush of enthusiasm that infects some.

Then, these
excited, energized folks become the victims of the destructive cycle of all or
nothing social media. Today, I’d like to expand on this concept and explain
what can happen if you find yourself caught in the whirlpool of this mindset.
I’ll also offer some ways to help you regain your equilibrium.

Beware the
Trap of Too MUCH Social Media

This cycle
usually begins when someone is trying to become comfortable with a new platform
or way of approaching social media. They’ll spend hours on end, over the course
of a few days, or for the hardier souls, the course of a few weeks. At first,
the results multiply and that taste of victory spurs them to more intense work.

But true
platform building with social media cannot be rushed.

Just like a
builder must wait for a poured foundation to cure, social media interactions
must be allowed room to breathe. Here are just a few reasons it takes time to
gain traction:

When we
follow someone, it takes time for them to find that we followed them and follow
us back.

Not
everyone is online at the same time. So a concentrated burst of updates within
a few hours will net us fewer views than a few updates over the course of
twenty-four hours.

Everyone
manages social media differently. I check my followers 2 – 3 times a week.
That’s when I decide who to follow back and interact with on a deeper level.

Beyond the
downside of the above-mentioned issues, there’s also the very real issue of
burn-out. After that first heady rush of platform building victory, there’s
very little movement on the momentum front and frustration begins to take over.

I see the
mindset of:

I
invested all this time, and only have this to show for it.

Truthfully, if
this poor soul had invested the same amount of time over several days and/or
weeks, the growth would have been phenomenal.

So how do we
stop the cycle?

1. Set a time
limit—and stick to it!

2. Set
goals—reasonable goals.

3. Take on a single
platform at a time. Get started and established before tackling another.

4. Use a
scheduling program like Hootsuite or Buffer, to multiple your exposure and
limit the time you spend.

One of the gems
those successful with social media learn early one is that the when
is almost always more important than the how much.

But isn’t there
ANYTHING to do with all that excitement?

Yes, actually
there is. But be very careful not to spend too much time on even the tasks I’m
about to mention. Burnout is still a very real side affect of even these jobs.

Things We
Can Spend Time On

1. Composing
your bio/about me section of each platform. These section is a key place others use to gage whether they want to
interact with you. I simply cannot stress the importance of getting this right.

2. Check
your consistency. Beyond
getting it right, you also want your bio to be consistent from platform to
platform. This can be tricky because the word count of your bio is different on
each network. So you have to play around with it a bit.

3.
Generating a good cover image for all your networks. Here’s a link to my Twitter
homepage. You can see my cover image is my upcoming book. I use the
same cover for all my networks.

4. Choosing
a consistent avatar image for all your networks. My image isn’t exactly the same for every
single network, but it’s very recognizable, even in the thumbnail size. That’s
critical so people can connect with you in different places. They may discover
you on Facebook, but they prefer to interact with people on Twitter, so they’ll
search for you there. If you can’t be found, you’ve just lost a lot of
potential interaction.

5. Research.
Take a look at people who
are where you want to be on a given platform. Study the way they interact.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead learn from those who are where you
want to be.

Bottom Line

The biggest
thing to remember is that when it comes to building a platform—just like
anything else in life—you get what you put into it. There are no free rides or
short cuts to building a solid online presence.

Now it’s your turn.
Have you been bitten by the all or nothing cycle? How do you combat the
temptation to spend too much time on social media?

1 comment:

I've learned not to spend too much time on social media, but I'm still not doing Twitter effectively, I don't think. I tend to do a few things in the AM, then I only see the emails I get from Twitter about new followers. That's one I think I need to set a time for and do some RTs or something at noon and in the afternoon, maybe.

Thanks, Edie. You're going to get us all up to speed one of these days! See you at the BRMCWC!